Marjane grows up in Iran during a time of political upheaval and contradictions. After the Shah is overthrown, her family sends contradictory messages by expressing anger at his atrocities but also wanting to raise Marjane to be loving. She notices these contradictions. Her parents give her books about Marx's vision of a classless society, yet they have an expensive car and maid who does not eat with them, illustrating other contradictions in her life. Satrapi uses flashbacks and storytelling to concisely establish Marjane's childhood in Iran leading up to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

1. Starter questions:
• How does life in Iran change at the start of the
novel?
• How does Marjane change as a result?

2. Persepolis, the story of a
childhood
Lesson 1: contradictions
L.O. understanding the confusing
world of Marjane’s childhood (pp1-47)

3. Contradictions:
• Marjane’s family gives her contradictory
messages during the period right after the
Shah’s overthrow. On the one hand, they are
clearly filled with anger at the atrocities he has
perpetrated. On the other hand, as parents they
want to raise their daughter to become a
humane and loving person. This contradiction
does not go unnoticed by their perceptive
daughter.

4. YOUR TASK IS TO FIND MORE EXAMPLES OF
CONTRADICTIONS IN MARJANE’S LIFE (like this one:)
• Her parents give her books about Marx
who believed in a classless society.
• BUT they also have an expensive car and
a maid who doesn’t eat with them…

5. The structure of this part of the text
• Satrapi uses flashbacks and story telling
to make us understand what (her) life was
like in Iran until 1979 when the Islamic
Revolution took place.
• Through the use of images (in splashes
especially) she can show us much of
Iran’s history and her own life in just a few
pages.

6. Marjane’s
childhood:

7. Historic events in splashes

8. Plenary
• Discuss in pairs:
• How does Marjane Satrapi set the scene
& characterise herself and her family on
the first pages of the novel?